The JrMOMO Alphabet
by Jalyss
Summary: Twenty-six oneshots based on each letter of the alphabet on Jr. and MOMO. Rated T just to be safe.
1. A is for Abstruse

Well, I decided to try and write a Jr. and MOMO alphabet. Why? It was spontaneous. I can only hope I can write all twenty-six. I shall add to the fandom because I absolutely love this pairing. This one was going somewhere, somewhere that I didn't know, so that may explain why it came out the way it did.

I apologize if the characters seem OoC; I know they probably are...

This one is dedicated to none other than yondaime478 *cough(you better read this since I'm dedicating it to you)cough*

Disclaimer: I do not own Xenosaga in any way, shape, or form (I can only wish I did, then there wouldn't be only three games)

* * *

Abstruse – hard to understand; secret, hidden

* * *

She could hardly tell what was on his mind.

The pink-haired realian stared out the window into space, lost in thought.

The others were on board the Elsa somewhere. She was in the women's quarters, looking at the stars and other swirling masses of space dust. They were pretty in their own way, she supposed. She frowned at her reflection in the glass pane.

No doubt, Allen would be trying to ask Shion out, even in the middle of their vital tasks. He was so dedicated to Shion that it made MOMO smile in spite of all the recent happenings. She had to admire Allen for sticking to Shion for so long, even though he already knew another man was still in Shion's heart.

This led her to her own thoughts.

She couldn't deny that she had developed...feelings for the red-headed URTV. She wondered if they were really her own feelings and not Sakura's. After all, she had been created to be a median for Sakura, so maybe her thoughts and feelings had been passed on to her.

She placed a hand over her chest where her heart was. MOMO shook her head and stood up. Staring into space left her with too much time to think. She walked out of the room and proceeded to wander around the Elsa, hoping there would be something for her to do to keep her thoughts on a more productive route.

She walked down the corridors still lost in thought. There were too many things she was unsure of, too many things she was afraid of.

Wasn't there already another girl in his heart?

She closed her eyes. Yes, there was. It was Sakura. She could never replace Sakura, no matter how hard she tried.

Which was probably why she admired Allen.

She felt her already fragile heart start to crack, start to shatter into pieces so small one could never hope to put them back together.

MOMO shook her head. _No!_ she thought furiously, _I need to stay strong, stay happy for everyone!_ She would not allow herself to be down, not when the others needed her.

Or did they need her?

Was it her that he saw or was it the shadow of something long gone?

_Why does it hurt so much? Why does it __have__ to hurt so much?_

She looked up, shaking herself from her own thought and found herself in the E.S. hangar. She blinked a couple of time, wondering how she came to be there without her consciously knowing. With a sigh, she sat on the railing and stared out at the Zebulun debating whether or not she should look over the machine.

"So this is where you disappeared to," a voice behind her called out, echoing in the large cavern.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she jumped upon hearing a voice, almost falling off the railing. Regaining her balance, she whirled around to see Jr. rush over to her to see if she was okay. "Jr.…"

"MOMO, are you alright? Did I scare you?" he asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I just have a lot on my mind." She hopped off the railing and leaned against it. "Did you need something?"

"Naw, just came to check up on you. I was wondering where you went. Actually, everyone was wondering where you went. We're all up in the diner."

"Oh, did I worry everyone? I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. I can go up now; I'm not doing anything important." MOMO began walking towards the door leading out of the hangar.

The red-head stepped in front of her, blocking her way to the exit. She glanced up at him curiously. She tilted her head slightly to the side, blinking innocently. He was looking down at her with obvious concern.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? You've been acting, I don't know, a little strange recently. I'm just a little worried about you." He placed his hand on her shoulder as if to comfort her.

She forced herself to smile. "Of course I'm fine." She pointed at her smile. "See? There is no need for you to worry, Jr."

He was not fully convinced. "MOMO... if there's anything bothering you, you can tell me, okay? You don't need to push yourself so much."

The pink-haired realian avoided his gaze and moved back slightly so that he could no longer have his hand on her shoulder. "Is it... me you see... or is it...her...?" she whispered, barely audibly. With her head still bowed, she darted past the shocked URTV and through the exit, hurrying to the diner.

He blinked a few times, his mind processing the scene that had just unfolded. Shaking his head, he quickly chased after her in hopes of clearing up any misunderstandings she had about their relationship.

"MOMO, there you are!" Shion exclaimed as the petite realian walked in. "We were getting worried about you since it's lunch and you didn't show up." Jin, Ziggy, chaos, Allen, KOS-MOS, Tony, Hammer, and Captain Matthews sat around a table while Shion placed plates of food in front of them.

She blinked at Shion with amber eyes. "I was just caught up in something; I kind of lost track of time. I'm sorry."

Shion waved her off. "No, it happens. I'm just glad to know you're fine." She looked around the diner and at the door. "By the way, where did Jr. get to? You come back and then he goes and disappears."

"He should be up soon," MOMO said. "I'm pretty sure he was right behind me." _Or maybe he won't come up? I shouldn't have said anything. If he sees me as Sakura, he will probably think that it would be strange to face me after I asked him such a question._

Before Shion could comment, the doors to the diner burst open. Everyone in the diner turned to look over at the disturbance.

Jr. walked over to the startled, fuchsia-haired realian with a determined expression on his face. "MOMO, I don't think you understand..." Then, to everyone's surprise (or not surprise), he kissed her.

Embarrassed, MOMO moved away flushing furiously, avoiding his gaze. "... What was... that all about?"

He smirked at her. "Well, if you didn't get it the first time, I can always do it again."

She turned another shade of red, deeper than the last. "N-no... n-neverm-mind..."

He ruffled her hair and walked over to Shion. "Hey, Shion, what's for lunch today?" He was pretty sure that his little gesture had cleared up any doubts that MOMO had.

MOMO stood there at a loss for words. He loved her? Him, really, Jr.?

She attempted to calm herself down, the red subsiding. Yes, he was indeed difficult to understand since he did things on a whim.

But that made him all the more interesting now, didn't it?


	2. B is for Blackout

Okay, well here's an update. Thank you very much xxred .stained. deathxx, Aiselne Phoenix Nocturnus, eSJa, yondaime478 (so you did read it, haha), and Sakuya Izayoi for the reviews. Your feedback (including the concrit) was extremely helpful.

I have finally finished my online calculus course and am quite relieved since I did well. I also finished the first part of my english final, the essay writing part of it. So, the only exam I have left to worry about is the english reading comprehension part. Because of my spare time between these exams, I present to you the second installment.

The characters are probably OoC again (The only game out of the trilogy I have completed is III, which is my only excuse for this. I did watch my sister play half of I and I am on the second disk of II). I admit, I made fun of Allen here a bit, and I mean no offense to those who are fans of him. I also picked on Jr. again... *ehehe* If there is confusion to who is talking at certain times, I apologize as well. I tried to make it obvious as to who was speaking. Lastly, for the sake of this fic to work, let's say that blackouts are possible in the year 40XX.

One last note... there is a poll on my profile page. If you would take the time to vote in it, it would be greatly appreciated. So far, Bleach and Xenosaga are in the lead. This shall tell me which one, out of the choices, to update/write next. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Xenosaga or any of the characters (Or anything really...)

* * *

Blackout – the extinguishing or concealment of all visible lights

* * *

"Geez, where is Allen when you need him?" Shion sighed to herself as she gazed around the room in annoyance. "I need that data now. The preparations for Gamma 308 are finished and now all that's left to do is install the program into the mainframe."

Miyuki sighed. "Come on, Shion, just calm down a little. It's not like we're in that much of a rush. Nothing is going to attack this place any time soon."

MOMO frowned slightly. "I'm sure Allen is on his way as we speak. There must be something important that is holding him up."

The doors to the makeshift 'laboratory' opened, and Shion looked up expectantly. When she saw the red-headed URTV in the doorway, her expression fell and she hissed in annoyance. Miyuki sighed again and looked over the values on the monitor in order to prepare to ignore any outbursts Shion would have the minute Allen walked in with the data.

The pink-haired realian cocked her head to the side slightly. "Jr.? What are you doing down here? Aren't you busy with the defensive plans for Kookai Foundation up on the deck?"

"I just came down to see how you guys were doing." He looked around the room, checking out the values that scrolled across the screens. "It looks like you three are just fine."

Shion made an impatient noise. "It would be fine if Allen would get here with the data already!"

"Oh, Shion, I'm sure he has his reasons…" MOMO said sympathetically.

The automatic doors opened up once more, revealing a slightly panicky looking Vector employee. "Chief! I'm so sorry! Togashi called me a little earlier asking me about a matter regarding The Epsilon Experiment." He walked over to the green-eyed girl and handed her a disk.

She sighed. "About time, Allen. Okay, let's get this thing uploaded and see how it runs!"

Before she could input the disk into the slot, the lights flickered a few times before keeping their luminescence to themselves.

"What the…? I thought blackouts on the Durandal were pretty much impossible!" Miyuki exclaimed.

"I don-! Ahh!"

"Wait, Allen? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Chief."

"Don't move about so much!"

"Hey! I was in mid-walk, Miyuki!"

"Then I don't know how you managed to trip or run into something or whatever you did if you only took one step."

"Miyuki, that's not nice."

"I'm sorry, MOMO, but it's true. How can you only take one step and somehow do something weird like that?

"I have to agree with her, MOMO. I didn't think that was possible."

"Oh, Jr., not you too..."

"You guys, I'm still here you know."

"We know, Allen, we know."

"Miyuki!"

"Could you two quit it already?"

A chorus of two voices were heard: 'sorry, Shion' and 'sorry, Chief'.

"Geez, you two, as if we didn't have enough problems to deal with already. There should be a back-up power switch around here somewhere…" Shuffling was heard, then a loud thunk.

"Chief?!"

"Ow… I think I hit a table or something."

"Great, we're as blind as bats down here. As if things couldn't get any better."

"You know, Jr., your sarcasm really isn't helping at the moment."

"That was the point of it, Shion."

MOMO sweatdropped at their idle banter. Due to her sensors, she knew where everyone and everything in the room was. She also knew where the switch for the back-up power was. "Umm… you guys…?"

"Wait a minute, MOMO, I'm trying to…OUCH!"

"Shion? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it was the wall. I hit the wall, MOMO. Nothing to worry about. I need to find that switch. Miyuki, Allen, help me out here! You too, Jr.!"

The number of sweatdrops on MOMO increased as she sensed the other four start blindly walking around the room in hopes of finding the switch.

"What is this? No, wait, I think… it's a table!"

"Nice discovery, Miyuki…"

"Shut it, Allen. At least I figure out what it is before I walk into it."

"I didn't mean to, you know!"

"Guys!"

"Sorry, Shion."

"Sorry, Chief."

"You guys really like arguing, don't you?"

"He's just so… stupid sometimes, Jr., you know?"

"Miyuki! That was mean!"

"Well he is, MOMO!"

"Miyuki… I can't believe you…"

"I beg forgiveness then, MOMO."

MOMO sighed, wondering if she should just walk up to the switch and pull on it. She listened to their random chat with a small smile, deciding to put it off for a while. Besides, it had been a while since they all had time to relax. They were all busy with some aspect of work, and they seemed to be getting along quite well, minus the demeaning comments about Allen.

"Really, a blackout?"

"Sorry about this, Shion. I had no idea that this was gonna happen."

"No need to apologize, Jr.. You couldn't have known…God! Where is that switch? I swear, when I get out of this, I am going to make it big and place it in an easy to access place."

"If you do that, some people might accidentally pull on it."

"Well, just stick a large neon sign on it then, Miyuki. People should get the idea."

"A glow-in-the-dark sign would probably be better…"

"Hey, there's an idea! Wow, Allen, you can have good ideas."

"Miyuki!"

"I kid, MOMO."

"Fine. Jr., get some glow in the dark signs, please."

"Okay, Shion. I'll do that right after we figure out where the switch is."

"I wonder what chemicals make up the glow-in-the-dark stuff…"

"Come on, Allen. That should be common sense. Don't you learn that kind of stuff?"

"Not glow-in-the-dark stuff, Miyuki. Besides, not many people use it because blackouts are rare."

"Yeah, well, this just had to be the time. The rare time."

"Lighten up, Shion. It's not like we had something vitally important to do. Take it in stride."

"Easy for you to say, Miyuki. I like to get things done, not leave them almost completed."

"It's not your fault you can't finish Gamma 308. Blame the blackout."

"Yes, because blaming something else always makes you feel better, Jr."

"It was just a suggestion. If you don't want to loosen up, then don't."

"I'm perfectly 'loosened up' as you so put it."

MOMO giggled quietly. The four of them were walking cautiously as to not run into or knock anything over. Shion was always such a workaholic. It was nice, she thought, that Shion was finally taking a break from the project. Shion had been working on it for so long. But, then again, so were her and Miyuki. At least Miyuki and her had taken a short break once where Shion had not.

"I can't believe we can't find one stupid switch."

"Isn't it behind some boxes, Shion?"

"Oh great, like it wasn't hard enough already…"

"We'll find the switch, Chief."

"Yeah, yeah…"

The fuchsia-haired realian laughed in spite of their predicament. She stopped and blinked. Allen and Shion were on a collision cou-

"OW!"

"Ouch!"

"Ch-ch-chief?"

"Allen?!"

"S-s-sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. We can't see a thing…"

"Hahahahaha!"

"Not funny, Miyuki."

"Sorry, Allen. But you enjoyed that a little, didn't you?"

"M-miyuki!"

"I'm missing something here…"

"Aww, don't worry about it, Shion. It's nothing important."

"O…kay?"

"Damnit! Where the hell is that switch?!"

MOMO had her eyes closed, listening to their voices. Her eyes then shot open as she realized Jr. was moving closer and closer to the stairs that lead down to the basement level. Quickly, she darted over to him and pulled him away from the staircase, where one more step would have most likely sent him to the lower floor.

"Whoa! What the… MOMO?"

She had pulled him with a bit too much force and he had toppled towards her. She let out a small squeak of surprise as the realization of her actions came crashing down on her, literally.

Jr., realizing that the two of them were about to hit the ground, whipped out his arms and brought her close to him in order to take the full impact of the fall. An 'oof' was heard.

"Jr.? MOMO? Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, fine, Shion."

"Jr.? Are you sure you're okay? You didn't have to take the fall for us both, you know."

She could feel him shrug. "It's no big deal, and yes, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all."

"You really didn't have to…"

"Well, I said I'd protect you, didn't I?"

"I'm sure that doesn't need to be extended to little falls like this one. Hitting the floor isn't exactly dangerous, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But still!"

The amber-eyed girl sighed. "You know, you don't have to protect me. I know Sakura asked you to, but I can take care of myself." She attempted to get up, to get off him more like, and found to her surprise that his grip on her only tightened.

His voice was quiet, barely audible. "It's true I only started protecting you because I promised Sakura. But, that's not the only reason now…"

"Not the only reason now…?" her voice was laced with curiosity.

"You're… an important person to me… MOMO…"

She blinked, not that it mattered in this blackout, tilting her head slightly as she pondered his words. "You're an important person to me too, Jr.," she said with much innocence.

He let out a sigh. She was too innocent to get the deeper meaning of his words. He decided to change topic before this became awkward. "By the way, MOMO, why did you suddenly yank me in some direction?"

"That was because you were getting close to the stairs to the basement floor. I didn't want you falling down those stairs."

"Oh… wait… how did you know there were stairs there?"

She had to suppress her laughter. "Because I can sense it? Right now, Miyuki is the closest to that switch that you guys have been trying to find for the past fifteen minutes."

"You mean you could've just… I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"Yes, but I didn't because the four of you seemed like you were having fun. I didn't want to ruin it either, especially since Shion hasn't stopped working for the past five hours and she was 'taking a break' now so…"

Jr. laughed. It was just like her to do something like that. "I see. Well, maybe you could direct Miyuki to the switch? I think we've had enough fun down here. That and I don't think Allen can take much more of Miyuki's teasing."

"Oh, right." MOMO turned her attention to Miyuki and began directing her to the location of the back-up switch. After a few moments of tedious instruction, the lights flickered back on.

"Ow, my eyes!" Allen shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness.

Shion sighed. "At last! Now I can put this into the slot and…" She inserted the disk into the slot and started the transfer, her eyes scanning the screen before her.

"Thanks, MOMO," Miyuki said as she looked over at the realian. Her normal expression was now replaced with a small smirk. "How long are you going to sit on him for, MOMO?"

MOMO looked down to see that she was indeed sitting on the blue-eyed URTV and quickly stuttered an apology, blushing lightly, before getting off him. She held out her hand in order to help him back up again.

He had dismissed her apology as he took her hand. He wasn't bothered by her sitting on him, especially since she was quite light. Jr. watched her bounce over to Shion to help her with the final adjustments on the project.

At least he knew that she considered him an important person. No, she wouldn't understand the real meaning of his earlier words. But, he guessed, he could tell her again later on. That is, if he could muster the courage to, and in a more direct way.

He supposed blackouts were kind of useful in their own strange way.


	3. C is for Cinnamon

_So, I don't really have an excuse for this coming out so late other than the fact that I had writer's block and school is annoying. At this time I can definitely say here that I will not be updating until late May at the earliest due to IB Exams. Right now I should actually be studying but I thought that I should update this first. Procrastination! Anyway, I have to thank yondaime478 for allowing me to bounce ideas off her. Thanks to her, this chapter came to be. It is a little short. I also isolated the two of them here... Ah, but Miyuki gets a mention here. I really like Miyuki, and Gaignun, and Albedo, and Kirschwasser... I'm probably the only person, apart from my sister, that likes GaignunxMiyuki... _

_Thank you zx-ChiCho-xz, Sakuya Izayoi, Aiselne Phoenix Nocturnus, Kaylenz, Zefie Kirasagi, yondaime478, and XxDragonEyexX for reviewing!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Xenosaga in any way, shape, or form. If I did, there would be a sequel to Xenosaga III since the ending seemed incomplete (well to me anyway...)_

_I didn't really like how this turned out but... Enough of me talking..._

* * *

Cinnamon – the aromatic inner bark of any of several East Indian trees belonging to the genus _Cinnamonum_, of the laurel family: used, in dried and often powdered form, as a spice

* * *

MOMO took a quick look around the women's sleeping quarters aboard the _Elsa_. Satisfied that Shion was asleep and KOS-MOS was 'sleeping' as well, she tiptoed out of the room and into the hallway.

The _Elsa_ was currently on autopilot since Matthews, Tony, and Hammer needed to sleep as well. She walked into the control room and stared out into space. The pink-haired realian sighed, realizing that she seemed to be gazing into the galaxies a lot lately. It was interesting, to say the least. She enjoyed looking at the stars, seeing their pasts glinting at her from thousands of light years away. It reminded her somewhat of living beings with their own pasts reflecting in the current situations.

She relished in the quiet that was granted to her, the quiet that was very hard to come by in a ship full of people and life. Immersed in thoughts that swirled in her mind, she walked towards the front of the room in order to get a better view of the cosmos. MOMO reached out with her right hand towards the stars as if reaching for some definite meaning in the vast expanse of nothingness.

_It's strange how not fighting and sitting around doing nothing productive is actually quite boring. When fighting and caught up in the midst of things, I would wish for it to end. But, now that we have a break, I rather go back to fighting or doing something interesting. Having time to myself gives me too much free time to think. But it's a nice change, I suppose._

Her hand rested at her side again as she continued to peer into the vast expanse of space. There was too much for her to think about, too much to contemplate. There were so many things that she didn't want to think about for fear of possible outcomes. She pulled out a cinnamon stick from her pocket and stuck it in her mouth thoughtfully. Lately, she had been eating them so much that one could say she was addicted to them. The sweet and spicy taste appealed to her for some strange reason and she couldn't quite place her finger on why.

Munching on the rather unusual snack, MOMO leaned against the side-railing, blinking up at the stars. The uncertainty of space paralleled her current emotional state.

Her sensors picked up movement outside the doors of the bridge. She wondered who would be up at this time since everyone else needed their rest. She took a closer inspection and blinked multiple times. Upon identifying the person, that said person entered the bridge where she was.

"MOMO, what are you doing in here, up and about?"

"Oh, nothing much, Jr." she replied. "I was just thinking about some things. I couldn't sleep." She looked over at him worriedly. "What about you?"

He walked over to her and also leant on the railing. "Just the same as you; I couldn't sleep." He stared up through the overhead windows. "Man, it's been a while since we last had a break. We've been too busy running around trying to deal with so many things." Jr. let out a sigh, then glanced over at her curiously. "What are you eating?"

The realian blinked, a small section of her treat still sticking out of her mouth. "A cinnamon stick," she answered simply. "I found them in the food storage in the kitchen. They're actually really good."

"That's an odd thing to even try and eat. I'm surprised they were even in the food storage containers," he replied. "What made you decide to even eat those things?"

"N-no reason! I just felt like it," she said a little too quickly. She then turned to look outside the windows of the _Elsa_. MOMO continued to munch on the treat. "It's nice to have some time to relax," she said, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah. We're not out saving the universe or anything." He turned to face her. "Geez, Miyuki was way too excited about seeing all the upgrades Hammer put on the _Elsa_. She wouldn't stop talking about it for hours."

MOMO giggled. "I know. I think everyone on this craft now knows everything about every upgrade Hammer did on this vessel." She glanced back at him. "Though it's nice of her to come and visit us even though her schedule is very busy. Shion was so happy to see Miyuki again, even if she didn't show it."

The redhead smiled. "Well, that's just Shion. Besides, Miyuki wanted to visit Kookai Foundation. She has too many contacts with the people there. I'm pretty sure she knows everything that's happened on the Foundation. I don't buy her excuse of 'I want to see what's currently happening on the Foundation'."

"She probably just wants to visit her friends. She doesn't have to make an excuse to visit."

"I think she has fun being 'mysterious'. At any rate, I'm just glad she's on our side. I'd hate to have her as an enemy, with her skills..."

She shot him a warm smile. "Yes, that would be bad now, wouldn't it?" She blinked, a thought occurring to her. "You should probably try and get some sleep. We have a long search ahead of us tomorrow."

Jr. scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Good point." He removed his weight from the railing. Stifling a small yawn he glanced back at her. "You should probably try and get some sleep too."

She shook her head. "I'm still quite awake. I think I'll stay up a little longer. Besides, I don't need much sleep."

He walked over so that he was standing right in front of her. "Just... please try and get some sleep."

The honey-eyed girl blinked up at him, smiling. "I will," she promised. "I'll just stay up a little longer. It's a nice time to think about things, being quiet and all."

He nodded. "Okay then. Good night, MOMO." He reached out to hug her.

She was startled at the sudden gesture, but returned it all the same. She took a deep breath, sweet yet spicy, before she let out a small sigh. "Good night then, Jr., sweet dreams." She released him.

He gave her another smile and let go of her. Jr. turned around and headed out the doors of the bridge.

MOMO watched him exit, a sense of peace settling over her. A single realization struck her. She pulled out her snack and looked at it for a while, blushing slightly.

_Oh, maybe that's why I like these so much..._

* * *

_I don't usually put author's notes at the end but, I was wondering what to do for the letter 'D'. I'm trying to decide which one to do. Distance, determination, dissonance, or definition... Which one would you guys like to see?_


	4. D is for Distance

_Hi. I am not dead. I apologise for the over one year wait for this chapter, if there is anyone still reading this. I did say beforehand that I was moving from Canada to Australia at the end of June, 2010. Well, we had encountered a lot of problems with the move. That, and I have begun my first year in university! Behold, a procrastinating university student! Yes, I'm doing pharmaceutical science, so my schedule will be tight._

_A problem that came up, which delayed my update, was that my flash drive got infected by a virus. I had to reformat the whole thing, resulting in all of the memory being wiped. This happened about two weeks ago. I normally saved all my fanfiction on that flash drive, so I had to rewrite a lot. I also lost a lot of my unpublished work._

_Another excuse is that I had **major** writer's block. I did start with dissonance, but it wasn't coming out the way I wanted. I then moved on to distance, and in the first one I wrote, I was planning to kill off Jr. (Don't shoot me!) but that didn't turn out well either. Then, I got this.  
_

_Thank you for reviewing, Aiselne Phoenix Nocturnus, Sakuya Izayoi, x-red-stained-death-x, kaylenz (shush, you just stick with your drawings), MomoOhMomo, and Hihazuki!_

_This is a spin-off from one of my other stories that I had started. Should I continue with this idea or just ditch it? This takes place in an AU.  
_

_And anyone who likes an at least semi-decent AMV/GMV, please check out one that I finished recently, as an extra apology for this extremely late chapter. The link to my youtube account is up on my profile. Take a look, if you're interested._

_I have no beta-reader, so please excuse any grammatical mistakes..._

* * *

Distance – the state or fact of being apart in space; remoteness

* * *

It was the second week of summer break and Kookai Rubedo (Jr.) was thinking about how he could possibly ask his crush to go out with him. She was the student council president, and he was the vice president. They did already hang out quite a bit due to duties, but also as pretty good friends.

He had been interested in her ever since he first saw her wandering about the high school grounds on orientation day. She had been wearing an Ormus private middle school uniform, so he had known she did not attend his middle school. There was just something about her that drew him in. She had been staring at a tree in the school grounds in an empty area.

_He had seen her when he had walked around the corner of the building. For some reason, he had immediately backtracked and instead, peered around the corner. He ducked behind the wall when he saw her looking around. Why, he had no idea, but he was glad he did. After a moment, he looked back upon the scene and saw her trying to climb up the tree. Now he was just curious. What on earth was she doing climbing a tree in a school that she didn't even attend? She had reached the upper branches and appeared to be searching for something._

_She could have just gone to the top of the school building instead of climbing a tree._

_Maybe she was lost? _

_He walked over, unbeknownst to her. He stopped when he was about five metres from the tree. He didn't want her to think that he was some kind of pervert. She was still looking about._

"_Do you need some help?" he had called up to her._

_He swore he saw her jump, thankfully not falling out of the tree. She immediately looked down, eyes wide. "W-when did you get there?" A slight stammer at the beginning of her sentence, her face bright red. Her voice just penetrating the silence in the area._

"_Ever since you climbed the tree," he replied, humour colouring his tone. _

_She hopped out of the tree gracefully, and peered up at him, red still staining her cheeks. "I was just looking for my friends. I found them. But, thank you for the offer of help."_

"_How come you didn't just go to the rooftop of the school building?"_

_He watched in amusement as her eyes grew wider. "Ah! I completely forgot about that!" She turned more red and glanced around the area. "B-by the way, why are you all the way out here? There's nothing around here."_

_Jr. shrugged. "I wanted a bit of peace and quiet."_

_She smiled and nodded, her blush slowly fading. "I know what you mean." She took a step back in order to get a better look at him. She whistled when she saw his uniform. "Foundation Private Middle School. You must be pretty rich, and/or pretty smart."_

_He laughed. "Look who's talking. Ormus Private Middle School isn't exactly cheap either. Besides, we're both here for Vector's orientation, and this is no cheap school."_

_She had merely smiled in response. "Well, it was nice talking to you, but I better get going. I don't want to miss my friends and have to climb up another tree, although, I should just go to the top of the school building."_

"_It was nice meeting you. Hope to see you at the start of next year." He waved._

_She waved back and quickly disappeared around the main building._

Indeed, he had seen her at the start of year ten, but he hadn't had the chance to talk to her. Unfortunately, they weren't in the same class. They only managed to actually hold a conversation with one another when they entered the student council room, discovering that they both held positions on the council. From then on, they had been good friends, close friends, maybe more than close friends.

He had the feeling that the emotions he felt for her were mutual. Now, all he had to do was come up with an idea of how to ask her out.

"_Call me Jr.," he said upon entering._

"_What, no hello?" she asked quietly, not looking up from rearranging papers on the desk in the council room. Her voice was tinted with amusement. She didn't seem to be surprised from his sudden entry._

"_Well, if you want, hello," he replied. He walked over to her in order to help her organise the room a bit. _

_She looked up at him and shot him a look. "I didn't hear any sincerity in that so-called greeting." She stood upright with a pile of papers in her hands. "Though I do thank you for your help."_

_He smirked, holding out a small pile of paper out to her."You're welcome. Now, what do you say...?"_

"_If I'm going to call you that, then you should call me by first name." She walked over to the filing cabinet and began to look through that. "Don't you think, Jr.-kun?"_

_His smirk turned into a smile. "Yeah, alright."_

He hopped off his bed and paced around his room.

"No, no... no..." he muttered to himself. "None of these sound right..." With nothing coming to his mind, he opened his door only to find his youngest brother standing there with his hand raised to the doorknob.

"Hi," Gaignun said nonchalantly."I was wondering why you were pacing so. I could hear it from my room."

Jr. shook his head. "It's nothing. Sorry about that, Gaignun."

Gaignun peered at his elder brother for a moment and then smirked. "Having difficulties regarding her?"

The red head shot him a look. "Why do you always know these things?" he asked exasperatedly. "Was it really that obvious?"

"You only get unsure of yourself when it comes to her," Gaignun replied, amusement colouring his voice. "Who would've thought that someone as confident as you would be so flustered when it came to the girl you like?"

"Shut up, Gaignun!" Jr. coloured slightly. "It's not like that!"

His green eyes glittered with mischief and laughter. "I'm sure Alby-nii would agree with me here."

Jr. growled. "Of course both of you would say that!" He leaned against the door. "Is that all you wanted?"

Gaignun snickered. "Just came to tell you that you should be getting ready."

"**Why?**" His eyes widened, and a confused look soon took over. "They won't be coming for another two hours."

"One and a half, actually."

"I was close enough." He shook his head. "From what you said, otou-san sounds... nervous... But that can't be. He's always so sure of himself."

The younger one shrugged. "What else can you expect? This experience is going to be a new one for us all. I'm nervous too. Alby-nii, even more so. Or, at least he was last time I checked in on him." He raised an eyebrow. "You're not even thinking about it, are you?"

Jr. opened his mouth and paused. "I-I was! A bit. Kind of. Well, not really."

"Just some advice then, nii-san, just say it directly. It's probably the best way to get it across since she can be pretty dense."

"If I had a pillow on me..."

"I'm going, I'm going! Just get ready so you don't have to worry about it when the time draws closer." Gaignun waved and headed off.

He walked back into his room and lay back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

_He looked up from reading when he heard a loud thunking noise. His head snapped over to the door. There, he saw a large walking pile of boxes, sporting two arms and the lower half of what looked to be the female version of their school uniform. _

"_A little help here, guys?" a quiet, oh-so-familiar voice spoke from behind the tower. _

_He immediately got up, walked over, and took most of the boxes from the poor girl. Following him, two other student council members joined him. _

_She smiled at the three of them. "Thanks a lot. It was a bit hard to see where I was going."_

"_You could've called for help, you know," he responded. _

"_I can carry the lot. I just needed help setting it down. Besides, all of you were busy and I didn't want to drag you guys down the hallway just to come pick up some boxes."_

_He sighed and shook his head. "You know you can always ask me. A break from reading this stuff is good, you know."_

"_Yeah, I know. Thanks, Jr.-kun." _

_He quickly looked away, cheeks heating up slightly, at the warm and grateful look she gave him._

"Ugh, maybe Gaignun's right. Maybe a direct approach would be better. I'll go ask her out the next time I see her." With that thought in his mind, he smiled and hopped off the bed to go and get ready.

"_We're finally done!" she exclaimed as she collapsed back into the cushy chair. She looked around the place with an expression of relief and noted all the looks being directed her way. She quickly looked down at the table. "Woops," she whispered._

_He grinned. "Why is it the one time you decide to be loud, it's in a library?"_

_She gave him a playful, annoyed look. "It only seems loud because everything else is quiet. Anyway, we finally got all those forms sorted through. What a nightmare."_

"_Yeah, yeah, I'm relieved." He leaned back in his chair, across the table from her. He glanced at the clock above them, and his eyes widened. "Wow, look at the time. It's past lunch. We've been sitting here for close to five hours. How about we go and grab something to eat?"_

_Her stomach chose to growl at that point and she blushed heavily. "T-that sounds like a good idea..." she mumbled._

_He laughed quietly. "Then let's go."_

_They packed up their belongings and headed out of the library. _

_Her phone rang just as they exited. "Whoever that is, they have some pretty good timing," she commented as she pulled out her phone. "Ah, it's my sister. Please excuse me a moment."_

"_No problem."_

"_Hello, nee-chan. No, I just finished at the library. No, I haven't eaten. Yes, I'm about to go eat. Yes, but I'm going to go with a friend. NO! I-i-it's not... Nee-chan! I-I d-don't-! Nee-chan, listen! It's not anything of the sort! I'm just going to eat with Jr.-kun! Ack, I give up. I'll call you when I'm done." She closed her phone, blushing. _

_He raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" He indicated her red face._

"_O-o-of c-course I am!" she replied, not meeting his inquiring gaze. She sighed. "Nee-chan is just... jumping to conclusions about some things. She thinks that I'm going on a 'date' of some sort." The last part came out as a mumble, but he still caught the words._

_Deciding to tease her a bit, he replied, "It's a lunch date."_

_She squeaked. "W-w-wait... A-a l-lunch d-date? Y-y-yes... Of course..." Her voice faltered at the end and she was looking off to the side._

_Did she sound... a little disappointed? "Wait..."_

_She turned back to look at him, all traces of her earlier embarrassment, gone. "Come on, let's go! I'm starved."_

Once changed, he walked towards the window and gazed out at the large, well maintained garden. Maybe he would go outside for a little walk. He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a knocking.

"Come in."

White hair poked out from behind the barely opened door. Jr. shook his head. "Come on in, Alby."

"Hey, nii-san." The boy smiled nervously. "Otou-san wants us down in the living room. It's almost time."

Jr. shot him a puzzled look. "What? I thought we still had at least another hour to go."

Now it was Alby that gave him a strange expression. "Did you totally lose track of time? We have ten minutes! Get down there! Otou-san was not too happy about you not being down there at the fifteen minute mark."

He groaned. "Five minutes doesn't matter, but alright. I'm coming."

The two of them headed out and down the marble staircase. They then walked into the large living room, adorned with famous paintings, expensive vases, and other costly furniture.

The red head mumbled an apology to his father and sat down.

It was then in the summer following the end of year ten for Jr. when his family suddenly became... bigger. It was completely unexpected, and he was unsure as to how to go about it.

The boy was the eldest of three sons and one daughter at an age of sixteen. He had a twin, Albedo (Alby), Citrine (his younger sister by one year), and Nigredo (Gaignun) who was also younger than him by a year. His father had a strange taste in names. Their mother had passed away when he was eight, and his father had thrown himself into his work at that point. When he was thirteen, his father, Dmitri, had started 'dating' someone. The three boys never really knew who she was since their father did not discuss such matters with them.

The summer of his sixteenth year, his father was getting married to a woman named Mizrahi Juli. They had their marriage abroad, which came as no surprise to the four of them since their father liked to travel.

His father and getting married were not words he thought he would have ever put in the same sentence.

This marriage was not only due to love, but also to join two of Japan's biggest technology companies together, U-TIC Corporation and Yuriev Industries. His surname was not actually 'Kookai', but rather Yuriev. The change was for their protection, and allowed them to go to school with minimal guarding. That, and he did not get harassed at school.

After his father had told him about the marriage, he was only expecting a step-mother. So, it came as a great shock that he would also be getting three step-sisters. One the same age as him, one a year older, and the other was two years his senior.

With their father in the room, they did not dare speak. The silence seemed to drag on forever until the unmistakable sound of the doorbell went off, jolting the five of them out of their own thoughts.

One servant walked in. "Yuriev-sama, your guests have arrived."

"Show them in."

The servant bowed and exited.

Jr. sat there, his nerves finally kicking in. What would his step-mother be like? What would his step-sisters be like? Hopefully not similar to Citrine since he didn't think he'd be able to handle more than one of his sister.

He looked up to the doorway and saw his step-mother walk in. She was pretty, with brown hair and hazel eyes. She entered with a confident and serious air. So this was the woman his father fell in love with? She certainly was impressive, especially since she had managed to keep the U-TIC Corporation at the top since her husband had passed away.

His curiosity now piqued, he waited for his three new sisters to enter. The first one to enter was a girl with short brown hair, like her mother's, and jade green eyes. Second, to enter was the girl with long silver hair and yellow-golden eyes. When the third one entered, he felt his whole body go numb.

"Hello, Dmitri," Juli said calmly, her eyes scanning the room, taking time to rest on the four children.

"Juli," the blonde inclined his head. "Please meet my sons, and daughter. Rubedo, Albedo, Citrine, and Nigredo." He gestured at them upon saying their names.

"It is nice to meet you," The young brunette replied. Her younger sister nodded. Her youngest sister, however, merely inclined her head.

"It is a pleasure to meet the four of you at last. Your father speaks highly of all of you."

Gaignun, Alby, and Citrine exchanged slightly bewildered looks, but quickly hid them.

Citrine looked over at her brothers. "Hey, isn't that..."

Juli cleared her throat. "And here are my daughters. Sakura, Kirsch, and Momo." She too pointed at them in turn.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura-san, Kirsch-san, and Momo-san," Citrine replied politely. She glanced back at Gaignun and Alby, who were already exchanging worried looks.

Suddenly, the youngest Mizrahi girl walked over to the red head with her head down. Jr. blinked and stared at her, an expression of regret and uncertainty.

"Hi, fuku-kaichou," she said quietly. "I certainly wasn't expecting this. She raised her head to meet his gaze, her expression mirroring his.

"It's nice to see you again, kaichou."

* * *

_Otou-san - father  
Nii_-_san - older brother  
Nee-chan - older sister  
Fuku-kaichou - vice president  
Kaichou - president  
Not too sure about the last two. Got them from reading too much manga..._


	5. E is for Ensanguine

_Yeah, so I'm a bit late, so I apologise... Happy New Year to all of you! I've been working on my piano a bit more, so that may account for some delays. I've been trying to do Jr.'s Theme 3 (Presentiment) for piano; when I have that finished, I shall put it up. I do have another GMV up of this adorable couple on my youtube channel, if anyone is interested._

_It's 40 degrees down here, which is 104F for those in the USA. I think my brain is melting x.x Please tell me if you read any mistakes..._

_I finally finished I and II! Wow... Well, I haven't finished the extra Erde Kaiser thing in II yet, nor the GS campaigns, but at least the story line was done. Alby! D:  
_

_Once again, thank you to my lovely reviewers – Valerieanna, rikku, Aiselne Phoenix Nocturnus, x-red-stained-death-x. You guys keep me motivated to update!_

_This chapter is also AU… I'll try and keep it in the Xeno universe in the next chapter. _

_Italic type is flashback, underlined is thoughts/mental conversation._

* * *

Ensanguine – to stain or cover with or as if with blood

* * *

The warm, bright sunshine did little to cheer up the atmosphere around the school. It also did little to lighten her heavy mood as she stared out at the desolate field from its edges. Metal chunks from destroyed machines littered the field as well as the bodies of her fellow schoolmates, whether still in one piece or many.

The blood of her fallen comrades as well as her own coated her tattered white uniform, staining it a permanent ruby red. She clutched her right side as the bleeding slowed. Her Mithika partner stood next to her, a sturdy pillar to support her physically, as she felt her leg was broken, as well as mentally. Even now his familiar warming presence was doing little to ease the weariness she felt had settled deep within her heart. Only a couple of hours ago was the field a flowing carpet of green as far as the eye could see.

Her legs gave out beneath her suddenly, and she would have hit the ground if not for her Mithika partner who had caught her and brought her close.

"You should have just let me fall. You'll get blood all over your clothing," she said quietly.

Her partner's grip tightened on her. "As if, Momo. You know I don't care about that sort of thing." He gazed down at her. "Now, we should go inside so one of the healing-type Mithika can take a look at your wounds," he said worriedly.

The pink haired girl shook her head. "I… I just need a moment to collect my thoughts, please…?" She turned her head to look up at him, her eyes pleading.

"Fine, but only a moment."

She shot him a grateful look as she returned her gaze to the bloody battlefield. She was glad that her partner was caring and sweet. When she had first summoned him, she had been worried since he was a fire dragon. Later on, she found out that he was a big name in the Mithika world. He was known as Rubedo the Red Dragon, one of the most powerful serpentine Mithika. However, he preferred to be called 'Jr.' as to hide his identity in the human world from other Mithika since he perceived that as a fun game. The teachers were astounded at his power, while also grateful that he got along well with his human partner. Their partnership was unusual as most Mithika preferred to stay in the Mithika realm, and generally did not get along well with their human partners.

Her thoughts then rested on the previous battle. Just a couple of hours ago she was talking with her beloved sister and a couple of friends, right before they had to set out to fight. Now, she was barely standing, wondering when everything just fell apart.

Why? Why did things have to turn out this way? She never regretted having the ability to form a contract with a Mithika and merge with them, though now she regretted not being physically good enough for this line of work. She was too soft, too caring for such a struggle against the machines. In her eyes, this battle would continue for another few hundred years. Even with the help of Mithika there seemed to be no end to the bloodshed.

Momo hugged her partner, all her emotions finally catching up to her. She clung to him and cried.

Her sister, Kirsch, had been killed by one of the machines in the battle. She had held the silver haired girl in her last moments as Jr. kept a protective eye over her. She never thought that she would have to say goodbye to her so soon. Then again, the lifespan of a summoner was, on average, only twenty-one years. With the passing of her sister, Kirsch's partner, Citrine, had disappeared back to the Mithika world, Citrine's ties to the human world broken.

And her other friends…

Her chipper, brown eyed, brown haired friend Miyuki was in a coma. Alby was worried for his partner, vowing revenge upon all machines as he stood next to her bed.

Togashi was gone too, along with Allen.

Chaos was relatively uninjured, his partner Asher, a holy type, keeping him safe for the most part. He was resting up, exhausted by the strain of using the immense power Asher possessed.

Their combat teacher, Ziggy was in critical condition in the infirmary. His partner had retreated to the Mithika world for the time being.

Shion had received a nasty gash in her side as well as a broken arm and a mild concussion. She was in the infirmary in pain, but at least still alive. Shion's partner, KosMos, was watching over her. Maybe it was a good idea to go get herself fixed up…

"Sorry about that, Jr., I just…" She stopped the tears.

"No need to apologise. Grieving is a natural part of life. Now we should really go inside and get you healed." He sounded worried.

She nodded resignedly. "Alright. But I…"

He picked her up. "I can carry you." He flew inside before she could utter a protest.

The fuchsia haired girl sighed and snuggled closer to her partner, breathing in his warm, comforting scent. She was tired. All she wanted to do was sleep for a very long time. That sounded like a good idea, after she was healed of course.

Upon entering the room, Shion raised her hand in greeting. Jr., seeing that Momo wanted to go talk to her friend, walked over to the brown haired girl. One of the healing type Mithika and his human partner walked over and began treating Momo.

"Momo… I'm glad you're okay… for the most part…" Shion coughed. "I… I'm… so sorry about Kirsch…"

The honey eyed girl nodded silently and then rested a hand on Shion's shoulder. "Thank you…" She turned away. "Any news on Miyuki's condition?"

Shion looked at her gravely. "They don't have any idea when she'll wake up, if she ever does…"

"I see…" Momo bit her lip. Things were getting worse. She didn't want to have to tell her friend but… "Shion, Togashi and Allen also didn't make it…"

Shion's crushed expression tore at her already beaten heart. How many more lives would be taken before the year was up? Already, there were only fifty-odd third years at their high school. How many of their lives had been taken in this fight?

The two girls sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts of this whole ordeal.

Just remembering her sister brought the tears back to her eyes once again.

_Momo and Kirsch had been back-to-back amidst the fighting occurring around the school. It was unknown why the machines attacked the schools, but people believed that it was because they somehow knew that the schools were where more humans were being trained to take on the robots. _

_Kirsch had been singing, since Citrine was a Siren, fending off the incoming missiles and bullets. Momo was doing her best to intercept as many as possible as well as take out the source of the relentless onslaught. _

_Suddenly, a large explosion about twenty metres away propelled them apart, sending them flying. Momo had managed to land on her feet, but was immediately faced with a bladed machine, one the summoners had decided to call a 'VGS'. It was a large black floating machine. It had the shape of a 3-D guitar pick and was armed with two lethal looking blades on either side. She had to parry its slashes with her flame bow, lest she end up in strips. The roar of guns was deafening, and Jr. was doing his best to keep most of the projectiles away from her with his flames. _

_A searing white light soon engulfed the area, blinding her. She felt the dragon wings instinctively fold around her, protecting her. Jr.'s soothing voice echoed in her head, telling her that she would be alright. His presence kept her calm. _

_When the wings finally moved out of the way, she took a look around the area. More death and destruction littered the field. _

_Her sister! She looked around frantically for any glint of silver hair. To her horror, she found her sister lying in a pool blood a few metres away with Citrine bent over her, a solemn expression on her face. She ran over immediately, the world around her blurring. No, there was no way that she could be dying…_

"_KIRSCH!" she yelled, praying to whatever god there was out there that her sister would live. She fell to her knees when she reached sister. Momo's eyes widened when she saw the gruesome gash across Kirsch's abdomen. _

_Citrine shook her head. "She's suffering internal bleeding. There is nothing I can do nor is there any healing type Mithika nearby." She looked up at the pink haired girl. "She only has a short while until…" Her voice trailed off, unable to complete her sentence._

_Momo bent over and gently lifted her sister so that she was resting against her. Pain, regret, worry, and an assortment of other emotions flickered across her face. She took Kirsch's hand in hers, feeling her sister grasp back weakly. _

_Kirsch winced in pain. "You… you were always… so easy… to read… I only… wish that I … could stay alive… longer… so that… I could… look after you…"_

"_Kirsch…" she whispered. Missiles exploded overhead and all of them flinched. Jr. had thrown up a protective fire barrier to prevent the debris from falling on them. "I… I love you, Kirsch, and I always will."_

_Her sister had managed to give her a weak smile. "I will always… love you… Momo. Please… tell our father… that I… am… sorry that… I could not… stay to look… after you… and that… I love him as well…" She turned to face the red head. "Jr., I am… counting on you to… look after Momo. I do not… want to see her… where I am going… so soon…"_

_He nodded gravely. "I understand. I will look after her to the best of my ability."_

"_Also… keep her happy… or I will… haunt you…"_

_The azure eyed male nodded once again. "Of course."_

_Kirsch's eyes then closed, her grip on Momo's hand fell slack. Her breathing stilled, her heartbeat silent. _

_Citrine slowly disappeared back to her own realm, her connection to the human world gone. "Good luck…"_

_Momo stared down at her sister's body. Jr. kept an eye on his partner as well as the surroundings. Even with the death of her sister, the battle was still raging. They could not afford to stand idle for long. _

'_Momo, we cannot afford to stay here for too long. I know that you need time to grieve but I did make a promise to your sister to look after you. We are in danger.'_

'_I know,'__ she replied, mentally. __'I… I… I just thought we had so much more time together… I never thought…'__ She trailed off, swallowing her grief for the time being. __'I'm sorry about that. I know this is not the time to be standing still when we are still in the middle of a battle.'__ She felt Jr.'s spirit settle around her, attempting to comfort her. __'Thank you.'_

_She had stood up after that, resolved to destroy as many of these machines as possible. With Jr. merged with her, she built up as much firepower as she could as she took to the skies._

_She rained down flaming balls of destruction, taking her anger and anguish out on the moving metal contraptions below._

Momo was exhausted. She just wanted to go sleep. Using Jr.'s power had put her body under great pressure and she knew she was only just beginning to feel the effects. She felt her whole world spin. She vaguely heard him call her name, though she could not make out any other words. The blackness was so inviting that she just gave up and embraced it…

* * *

When she came to, she found herself in her own room, with her partner sitting on a chair next to her bed watching over her.

"How long has it been?" she asked wearily.

He glanced over at the clock that was hung over her study desk. "A little over two hours, according to your clock."

"I see…" She sat up, taking a look around.

"A message was sent out through the school a few minutes ago. Another wave of machines has been spotted a distance from here. We will be engaging them in half an hour."

The amber eyed girl sighed, tired. "Alright…" She looked over at him and noticed him staring back at her, worry evident in his face. "What is it?"

He hesitated. "Do you… do you regret having the ability to form a contract with us?"

She blinked. "I…"

"I would not blame you if you did. You have to suffer a lot more heartache and pain than other humans…" He fidgeted, which was uncharacteristic of him.

She realised where he was heading. "I guess I regret the fact that I'm just not strong enough to look after the ones I love, and I regret that you have to be paired with me when you could do so much better with someone else who has better abilities than–"

"Stop that. We've already gone over this. I am perfectly happy being partnered with you. You are capable on your own."

"As I was saying, I regret not being able to protect Kirsch in the midst of battle and I also regret that I couldn't do anything for her in her last moments." She paused for a while, the memory of her sister's death still fresh in her mind. She felt the tears well up in her eyes once again and admonished herself for crying. Kirsch would not want to see her cry.

He waited for her to continue, and she was glad for the silence. It gave her time to build back her composure.

"I regret all these things… especially the machines. But, I do not regret having the ability to summon. If I didn't have that, then I would never have met you." She looked up at him. "And… that is something… that I don't even want to think about."

The crimson haired male had a small smile on his face as well as a look of relief.

She shook her head, clearing all sad thoughts from her head. "Silly, as if I would ever regret meeting you. You know I care too much about you to even think of that."

"And I care for you as well," he replied, a light blush staining his cheeks at the admission.

Momo placed a hand over her mouth to cover up her smile. He was so cute when he was embarrassed. She dropped her hand and then held her arms out to him.

He glanced over and his blush darkened a bit more. He stood up and sat on the bed next to her. Looking sheepish, he reached out to embrace her.

After a moment, she loosened her grip. He did the same.

"I suppose we should head out again," she commented as she glanced at the time. "The enemy will be arriving shortly." She got out of bed and headed to the door, looking back at him.

He nodded and walked over to her. "I will do everything in my power to keep you safe."

She smiled up at him, heartened by his words. "I know. You always do." She then looked down at the floor. "But, if you can't, then I don't blame you. This is a war… after all…"

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. She could hear his heartbeat quicken as her head leaned against his chest. "Don't think like that, Momo. We will survive."

The petite girl merely nodded and stepped away from him. "We had better go."

"Yeah."

They headed out to the field. Momo looked around for any signs of her remaining friends. She spotted Chaos with Asher, though he still looked drained. Next to him was Shion, who looked tired as well. They sported traits from their Mithika partners, so she figured that they were merged and ready to go.

She turned to Jr. and looked up at him. "Ready?"

The ocean eyed male inclined his head and she felt a rush of power as they merged. Red dragon wings sprouted and her hearing improved.

'Here we go again. Let's wipe them all out,' she thought to him.

'But of course,' he replied mentally.

She took to the skies once again, vowing to protect those she cared about. 'Time to destroy them all, or die trying.'

And she could feel the calm, protective presence of her partner as she did.


End file.
